One night, the Southern Necropolis in Glasgow is filled with children. They think they are not having fun, but they are hunting a terrible vampire who is said to have taken the life of more than one child. The absolute Vampire Gorbals mania ended with several novel laws being passed.
In the heart of Glasgow, Scotland, beneath the looming industrial smokestacks and crowded tenements of the Gorbals, a strange and unnerving legend took root in the mid-20th century – according to which dozens of children descend on a cemetery armed with makeshift weapons in search of an iron-toothed vampire.
This bizarre incident remains one of Britain's most notable examples of mass hysteria, although some still whisper that something truly sinister once prowled the crumbling gravestones of the Southern Necropolis.
Vampire hunting night
The legend began on a gray, fog-shrouded evening in September 1954 in one of the city's poorest neighborhoods, where children had little or no open space to play, except for an aged cemetery. A rumor quickly spread among the children of the Gorbals district that a seven-foot-tall vampire with shining iron teeth was stalking the Southern Necropolis cemetery, allegedly kidnapping and devouring two adolescent boys.
Within hours, the cemetery was swarming with local children – some as adolescent as five, others as teenagers – armed with sticks, knives, pieces of wood and stones. In groups, they combed the Victorian cemetery, peering behind tombstones, hiding in mausoleums, and calling to each other in hushed voices.
At the back of the cemetery, the steelworks were belching flames and sulfur-filled smoke covered the sky. It all created a scene, casting shadows that the children followed.
Reports say some adults were also drawn to the scene, although most dismissed the affair as childish nonsense. But the sheer number of armed, determined children – and their insistence that a vampire lurked among the graves – alarmed more than a few bystanders.
The authorities intervene
As night fell, the cemetery caretaker and local police arrived and tried to disperse the crowd. One of them was policeman Alex Deeprose and he couldn't believe what he was seeing. The children refused to leave, stating that they would not leave until the vampire was caught or killed.
The Gorbals Vampire was allegedly a seven-foot-tall monster with long metal fangs. They claimed that the vampire had captured and eaten two boys and was living in the cemetery.
It took several hours and multiple police patrols before the would-be vampire hunters were finally sent home. The event made headlines across the country, alarming both the public and local authorities. The next evening the children returned to the vampire hunt. There are plenty of theories as to what caused such a massive outbreak of panic and belief in the blood-drinking monster. It even reached parliament.
American horror comics are to blame
Authorities were quick to place the blame on American horror comics such as Tales from the Crypt AND Crypt of Horror, for filling adolescent minds with terrifying fantasies. Following the incident, parents, teachers and church leaders joined forces to press for the introduction of the Children and Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act 1955, which banned the sale of certain horror films to minors in the UK.
According to the children, it all started on the playground, spread from school to school, and then broke out like a gigantic panic. As Ronnie Sanderson, an eight-year-old who was one of the hunters, said:
– They said there was a vampire there and everyone was supposed to go there after school. At three o'clock the school was deserted and everyone rushed to it. We sat there on the wall for ages, waiting and waiting. I wouldn't go inside because it was a bit scary for me.
Although the basis of the story was that the vampire had taken the children, there were no records of any children missing or murdered during the period in which the incident occurred. The 1953 issue of Dark Mysteries included a story titled The Vampire with the Iron Teeth. Maybe that's where the hysteria comes from? Or was it something much older? There is no evidence that any of the Glasgow vampire hunters have ever seen an American comic book.
A deeper, older fear
Some folklorists suggest that the tale may have deeper roots in Scottish folklore. Tales of iron-toothed witches and ogres appear in aged Scottish legends, often as bogeymen who intimidated children, commanding them to behave well. One such character is “Jenny with the Iron Teeth”, an aged Glasgow bogeyman who is said to lurk in gloomy corners and kidnap naughty children. There was also Iron Man, an ogre who hunted children.
It is possible that these older oral histories have reemerged in novel form amid the poverty and anxiety of post-war Glasgow, where violent deaths, disappearances and urban legends were not uncommon. According to legend, Jenny preyed on children who wouldn't go to sleep around Glasgow Green in the early 19th century.
Jenny from Earn Teeth
Come and get the baby (baby)
Take him to your cave
Where Bogie waits (the cart lives)
But first, put the bait (both) in your gigantic teeth
In his plump sides
Was the Gorbals vampire ever real?
No vampires have ever been found and no missing children have been officially reported to fit this story. Whether a sinister figure once walked the fog-covered cemeteries or whether it was simply the result of fear, folklore and a fertile imagination remains a mystery.
But the people of Glasgow still remember the night in 1954 when an army of fearless children armed themselves to face the unknown, determined to drive the bloodthirsty monster from the streets. The Act and regulations adopted then are still in force.
And at night, beneath the crumbling stones of the Southern Necropolis, some say you can still feel the weight of age-old legends… and hear the echoes of compact, determined footsteps in the gloomy.
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Vampire Gorbals: Glasgow Night of Terror
One night, the Southern Necropolis in Glasgow is filled with children. They think they are not having fun, but they are hunting a terrible vampire who is said to have taken the life of more than one child. The absolute Vampire Gorbals mania ended with several novel laws being passed.
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Vampire Gorbals – Media Center
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